


Double The Trouble

by heartykeykeke



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: Fluff and Humor, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Rival AU, Slice of Life, Tennis AU, all wanna one members are a similar to character from prince of tennis, daniel similar to momo, friendly to everyone niel, if you squint you can see 2sung, if you squint you can see panhwang, inspired by sporty looks in Bean Pole, it's more fun if you guess, lazy grumpy ong, mature warning for cursing, ongniel can't stand each other, prince of tennis based au, rivals to friends, rom com with a side of sports, sassy rude ong, secret fanboy niel, seongwoo similar to ryoma, there's no smut sorry, you don't need to have watched the anime because it's very loosely based
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-03-31 00:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 17,969
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19038397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/heartykeykeke/pseuds/heartykeykeke
Summary: Captain Jisung has a plan to get the ace of the team, Ong, and the powerhouse of the team, Niel, to stop coming for each other's throats every day. He orders them to play doubles in their next big match. The pair who can't stand each other are forced to hang out for the sake of their lousy teamwork after 2park, the golden pair,  crushed them in a practice match. Hopefully, these cat-dog rivals survive to play.





	Double The Trouble

“Good practice! Take a breather and gather around guys. I’ve bought you some drinks.”

As the captain of 101 Sports Academy’s tennis team, Jisung, ordered, the twenty-five members gathered around in the middle of the eight forest green and white courts they had been taking turns practicing on. The only one who wasn’t sweating like a pig in the fenced in area was the lazy ace of the team who had been napping in the shade against the wire dividing the courts so that the balls wouldn’t fly too far that they’d become irretrievable. 

Daniel, one of the team’s regulars who was known for his powerful playing style and killer smashes, couldn’t resist yanking the man’s white cap down over his prettily handsome face. “Are you a cat? How can you nap after a couple minutes of serving practice, pretty boy?”

“Shut up. You’re noisy, stupid mutt,” Seongwoo replied, tipping his cap up and glaring at the taller man. 

The two men adorned in their training gear with rackets slung under their arms were almost the same height, but because Seongwoo had a much more slender build and often hunched, he appeared to be a midget next to Daniel. The blonde was intimidating with his packed muscles and superiorly large frame with 60 centimeter monster shoulders. Seongwoo didn’t happen to once find him intimidating like the rest of the newbies in the team usually did before they came to know how bright and friendly he was. 

Seongwoo was known as a genius tennis player that wasn’t afraid of anyone, not his father who was a famous professional athlete or their captain or coach that had quite the tempers. As the team’s ace, the youngest tournament champion in the history of forever, and a well-known player who lived several years in the United States, he had no reason to be intimidated by anyone. He knew he was superior and that made him extremely arrogant, which Daniel strongly disliked. 

No-one however could truly hate Seongwoo or ask him to leave the team no matter his attitude, rough way of speaking, and lack of effort especially in regards to teamwork because he was their best player and that demanded respect. Seongwoo was basically already a professional player at the single’s level but his father was making him spend his last year in a regular school instead of getting professional coaching abroad. He thought it would build character and improve the sharp edges in his personality. 

The last month that he’d been here though, there’d been no real progress. There was no-one that his continuous lazy attitude and rude mouth rubbed more wrongly than Daniel. He thought he was a person that could get along with everyone, but he couldn’t get along with Seongwoo as of yet. The arrogant, tiny brat irritated the hell out of him. 

“You want to go? Loser has to carry the other’s bags all the way back home,” Daniel challenged with his thick fist pumped in the air.

Seongwoo looked at the hand in front of his nose like it was a pesky bug and pushed it away with a pale, delicate finger. “No thanks. Not today. I’m going to go home quickly to play with Rupin.” 

“Tch. Rupin. Your cat sounds as bratty and pompous as you. Does he only eat tuna sandwiches and play with freshly grown grass?”

The ace rolled his large, round eyes. “He’s just a normal cat. Though he could probably outsmart your cats. I’m assuming they inherited your all energy and brawns with no brains persona.”

“What do you mean no brains?! You want to challenge in math then? I heard that you got only two points on your last test! Even if you guessed on everything, you should have gotten a higher score than that. You’re really unlucky, huh?”

“That’s cheap. You being lucky doesn’t make you smart either. You didn’t even score fifty percent, I saw that! Before you crumpled it up and stuffed it in your desk. Are you embarrassed, so you’ve got to bring it up? That you can’t be better than me at anything?”

“I’m better at you than lots of things, whatever! I’m stronger, faster, taller, bigger, nicer, have more friends, and I’m a better cat owner!”

“You take that back. Insult my looks and personality all you want. But leave my Rupin out of it, Shrek! She didn’t do anything for you to insult her twice.”

“Make me, Sleeping Beauty.”

“Let’s go then. Right now, on the cou—”

“ENOUGH!”

Jisung came over to separate the two regulars who were—as usual—in the middle of a ridiculous argument, throwing insults at each other, jerking each other around by the collar. He pushed them far away from each other and forced them to release the grip on their clothes. They remained tense, huffing and shooting lasers at each other.

“He started it.” They both accused together. Jisung rolled his eyes and slapped them both on the back of their heads. 

“I saw everything, you idiots. I know who started it and who made it worse. Daniel, I why do you keep challenging Seongwoo every other day? Do you like having your pride shattered? Are you brave or just stupid? And Seongwoo. I’ve told you about your issues with teamwork and way of speaking. If you don’t want to do something, you can suggest some other time and don’t go around saying everyone is noisy. You sound like an ajussie with a hangover. Everything is noisy to you. Maybe if you have such sensitive hearing, you should wear earplugs.”

They each took turns snickering and sticking their tongues out at each other like children while Jisung scolded them. 

“We’re done here, right? If not, you two can leave. Go to a street tennis court and attempt to kill each other there. Or bring out your cats for a cat show and we will decide which of you has the better cat, finally. I’ll buy a first prize trophy from Daiso even.”

“Clearly it’s Ori.” 

“Clearly it’s Rupin.” 

They turned to each other with narrowed eyes as they spoke simultaneously.

“Rupin? She’s not near as cute and sweet as Ori. Admit it. She’s lazy and plump and frumpy.” 

“Who are you calling frumpy and plump? She’s fluffy! She’s not that lazy either. She gets active at night. That will happen to Ori, just wait and see!” 

“No it won’t! Ori is already over a year old. She’s an adult. She’s still active and skinny. I’m not going to spoil her rotten and feed her high calorie snacks. You and your damn sweet tooth. Tch, such a child. Just like you look.” 

“I’M a child? Your freaking nickname is choding because you’re so immature! You make jokes so lame that sometimes even Lin doesn’t laugh and he laughs at everything!”

Jisung sighed and shook his head, muttering, “There’s just no quitting with these two brats. They’re like bickering siblings. Forget it, I’ll continue the meeting without you two. You go squabble over there where you won’t disturb the meeting.”

He shoved their backs in the opposite direction. The two were so busy arguing about who had the better cat which turned into several other things that were completely unrelated that they hated about each other that they hardly noticed. 

Jisung gathered the other members, some who laughed and others who shook their heads and looked frustrated. Those two were nicknamed the cat and dog of the group since they were complete opposites and never saw eye to eye on anything. During practice every other hour there was some incident that usually led to Daniel being defeated in a singles match against Seongwoo. Then, Daniel would sulk for a full day and spend all of his waking moment practicing so hard that he was on the brink of passing out. 

Whereas Seongwoo seemed unaffected either way. He’d be smug for a minute or two at his win but then his face took on that stoic, indifferent look. Like he cared and had no interest in anything. Like he was an emotionless robot. They didn’t know him well enough to totally tell if that was the case. The only thing that made him smile was if he was in the middle of a match with a unique opponent that challenged him to be serious and play with his dominant hand (very rare) or talking about his cat, Rupin. 

“The reason that I wanted to talk is to announce who the regulars are going to be for this upcoming match with JBJ Academy in two weeks. There’s spots for three singles and two doubles. So, a total of seven people. 

Daehwi, Jinyoung, and Sungwoon will be playing singles this time around. The golden pair of course will be going, Jihoon and Woojin, as doubles. The second pair of doubles is a collaboration that could be a disaster, but I think is necessary as many of you will agree…Our ace lazy cat, Seongwoo, and our energetic powerhouse puppy, Daniel.”

Daehwi, Jinyoung, and Sungwoon whooped to be have shown enough progress during practice that their captain trusted them to play. Daehwi though the youngest was a given, having hardly ever lost a match. Like Seongwoo, he was considered an undefeated genius with unlimited potential and had had professional training since he was younger and found to be gifted with the sport. He had pretty eyes but for some reason he kept them nearly closed unless he was playing seriously. 

For Sungwoon, it was his first game in three weeks. He was on something like a suspension because he’d gone all ‘wild bear’ in a game and hurt his arm as well as the opponent’s leg. He was as sweet and fluffy as a koala until he grabbed a racket in an official match. He basically had too much competitive spirit. 

Daniel was similar but he was far less hot-headed and risk-taking than Sungwoon was. It was a delightful surprise to him that the captain had chosen him to play. Some other team members pat him on the back, congratulating him. All gasped at the end when it was announced who the last doubles would be.

“NEH? DANIEL AND SEONGWOO WILL BE A TEAM? CAPTAIN, HAVE YOU GONE CRAZY?!”

The two in question rushed to the center of the team, pointing rudely at each other’s nose and appearing flustered. Again, they spoke simultaneously as if they were a comedy duo. “ME? AND HIM? NO WAY!”

“Alright, alright. Calm down, calm down. Let me explain at least. I have my reason. If ya’ll would just---QUIET THE FUCK DOWN!!!! YAHHHH!!!”

Finally, the noisy bunch of boys drifted off into murmurs and then became silent, excited, nervous eyes fixed on their furious captain. His voice was scary but in all honesty his face wasn’t. He was short, slender, and pretty with an overall nice guy sort of face. He wasn’t nearly as pretty as Seongwoo nor was his skin as nice as Sungwoon’s but in general he wasn’t the sort of captain material that was scary. 

Though they did respect him. He was a good player, he was smart, and he had a good heart and even better ideas. He was also fair and gave good advice. He and Minhyun with his data-taking and analysis skills gave each player a schedule designed to fit each player and improve their weaknesses and strengths. It was because of that pair that they’d all become better players (except for Seongwoo and Daehwi who basically had no weaknesses and been playing since they were little). 

They respected him and what they feared was losing his respect and falling out of favor which would affect their skills as well as ruin their chances at playing in future games as the main line up. Even the regulars could lose their spot or be left out of the line-up. It was all Jisung’s choice. He was something like a God to them. 

“That’s better. Whew. Sorry for yelling. Look. I know that it’s a crazy idea. And it’s likely going to be a disaster as I said earlier. Trust me here. Me and Minhyun already did our research before I set up the line-up. Even if those two tank as we all expect, we can still win the match. 

The reason that I decided to do this is that they both need to learn how to play doubles just as you all should. I want this team to be full of all-purpose players. Almost all the single regulars have had their times as doubles but I haven’t forced these two yet because of their playing styles and selfish personalities.”

“Hey, I’m not! He is!” 

They were cut off and bowed their heads in shame as Jisung shot a death glare at them. The others snickered, imagining a cat and dog whimpering with their tails between their legs at the harsh scolding.

“Yes, you are! I’m also completely sick of your married couple like bickering. You are both not bad people and you aren’t as different as you think. I’m sure that you guys can at least be friendly enough to play a doubles game here and there or go through a week of peaceful practice. 

You need to spend some time together. Learn to get along. Start to understand each other. Talk instead of arguing. Find some common ground. Stop insulting each other every ten seconds, for god’s sake. That’s destroying our teamwork and it makes us look a mess in front of other teams. You’re going to practice together and play next week. You’re going to become friendly acquaintances if not friends. And you’re GOING to STOP making my court into a war zone. End of story. Got it?”

“Yes, hyung…” 

“I got it. If I have to. Seems like a bother…”

Daniel elbowed the elder and hissed.

“Shh. Stop complaining all the time. I don’t want to be with you either but we’re stuck with the line-up that way, pretty boy. Just deal with it.”

“It’s because of your stupid challenges that we’re in this mess, mutt. If you would just leave me alone.”

Seongwoo hissed back, elbowing even harder.

“I can’t leave you alone. You bother me. You’re so rude and bratty and pretty.”

“Where the hell did that come from? Why would being pretty—Wait, don’t call me pretty. I hate being called that. I’m a boy!”

Daniel snickered. “You sure don’t look like a boy. Big eyes, fair skin, delicate bone structure. Plus, you like sparkle and shit. Like the vampires in Twilight. It’s weird.”

“I do not! Your eyes are rotten obviously. From eating too much jelly.”

“Speak for yourself, sugar tooth fairy. You’re the one who has a caramel macchiato before practice.”

“That’s coffee and milk mostly! That’s got hardly any of the sugar in it that jelly does!”

“Ah, so it’s the caramel that’s got your locks glistening and flowing naturally in the wind like My Little Pony? I should tell that to the shampoo companies and earn some extra cash.”

Daniel acted like a prissy diva, stroking his golden waves. Seongwoo’s ripe tomato face looked like it would burst.

“Shut up, Pupzilla!”

“You shut up first, Sparkles!”

“Why don’t you both shut up and get to practicing? I want you to play with 2park. They’re the golden pair for a reason. You can learn a lot from them.”

“Come on puppy and kitty!”

“Yeah, come here pretty boys~”

Jihoon and Woojin whistled to them from the opposite side of one of the courts, in position already and waiting for them. Jisung had told them his plan while Daniel and Seongwoo were in the midst of another pointless argument. Those two knuckleheads were so engrossed in their childish argument that they would have ignored him.

The pair looked at each other with a helpless, pitiful expression that read ‘do we HAVE to?’

“Just go and try. You’re both so sure that there’s nothing you can’t do, so show me you can do it!” Jisung pressed in a bright tone, pushing them forward to the back lines of the court.

“Now, let’s have Seongwoo stand here and Daniel stand a bit more up. A bit more, big guy. There! Perfect—pfft! Why does it look so funny?”

The two men who looked like a tiger cub and wolf on the singles court looked like awkward turtles out of water all of a sudden, causing Jisung and the others gathering around the court to snicker. The pair flushed and glared at them. Then they gazed at each other with a determined look and fiery eyes. 

“We can do this. Doubles is easy. It’s not a challenge at all since you do only half the work as usual. I’ll take the balls that come on my side. You take the balls that come on your side. Sounds good?”

Seongwoo nodded and straightened his cap. “Sure. That sounds like the least troublesome way to deal with this unfortunate situation. Ah, doubles. Annoying. But I’m sure it’s easy for decent players.”

Woojin called across the court, appearing offended and brandishing his racket like it was a sword, “Hey! It sounds like you two are looking down on doubles.”

Jihoon copied his pose, also looking displeased. “Right! Doubles players aren’t playing doubles simply because they’re not good enough to play singles.”

“Singles is the type of tennis that’s actually easier. Since it’s just you on the court.”

“With doubles, you’re a team and you need to move and even breathe together. If you’re not in sync…”

“If you don’t have good teamwork…”

“Then you’re going to tank the match.”

“And make a mess of the court.”

Seongwoo rolled his eyes. Daniel merely laughed, uproariously loud, making the others put their hands over their ears.

“If part of being a team means that you become some sort of comedy duo or couple that finishes each other’s sentences, then I don’t want it! That was so lame, right Seongwoo?”

“Yeah, right. For once I agree about something you said, Daniel. Let’s not be like that. My side and your side, got it?”

“Yeah, I got it. Let’s kick the golden pair’s ass.”

“Yup.”

“Since both teams are so competent, why don’t we make a bet on who will win, guys?” Jisung asked the audience, clapping enthusiastically.

Almost everyone stated that they were in support of Jihoon and Woojin, making Daniel scowl and Seongwoo’s eyebrows twitch in irritation. He wasn’t used to people not believing he could do something tennis related. Usually the team treated Daniel like the family dog and Seongwoo like a god. The idea that them playing doubles successfully just because they argued here and there because of personality differences being laughable ticked them off. They felt a sudden urge to collaborate and show the others they were wrong to look down on them. 

Minhyun stepped forward with two glasses of a slimy, putrid green substance that reeked from across the court. He smirked evilly as he held them up.

“Since both teams think they’ll win and now we’re betting, let’s spice things up. The loser and those that sided with them should drink this healthy smoothie.”

Minhyun’s close friend and sidekick stepped up with a clipboard and twirling pen. Guanlin was also fond of data tennis and followed Minhyun like his real older brother. 

“This drink will increase your overall agility and flexibility for the next two hours. It includes fish juice, durian extract, raw quail eggs, ground up frog legs, lemons, and ox blood.”

The entire team showed comical expressions of horror and disgust. Minhyun’s healthy smoothies were infamous for being gross, so much so that they made you faint or puke immediately after drinking a sip. The four on the court appeared terrified and hesitant, even the usually expressionless ace. 

“Daniel.” Seongwoo’s expression was grave, dead serious. 

“Sup, shorty?”

“I’m NOT drinking that.”

“Me neither. We better win. Play your best, Princess. Whatever tricks you need to do. Even copying. Usually I don’t approve of that, you know, because it seems cheap. Like stealing. But this time I’ll let it slide. Copy the ___ and the ___. Bring them down.”

“You too. Smash up the court, Hulk. I’ll try to force them to send the ball up in your direction.”

“Much appreciated. Hyung.”

“Wow, the first time you’ve ever said it to me, I think.”

Daniel smirked back at him. “The only time. Then you’re going back to pretty boy, princess, Shu Shu, Sleeping Beauty, and Nero.”

Seongwoo’s large, gorgeous, dark eyes narrowed and he clicked his tongue, then he got in position to serve. He tapped his foot and stretched out his arms, mimicking tossing and hitting an imaginary ball. It was standard warm up for a server. 

Daniel squatted and moved side to side, pressing down on his thick thighs and stretching out his muscular calves. The two across the court were laughing and chatting with ease as they performed a team work-out which included lifting the other on their backs with linked arms. The pair considered if they should do that as well but then decided against it. The idea of touching each other when they weren’t fighting was somehow repulsive. 

The other team served first. Seongwoo had no issue hitting it back as it was neither a tricky or especially powerful serve. The ball was returned to Daniel’s side but it was slightly beyond his reach. He assumed that Seongwoo could easily get it if he ran to the other side. He remained crouched near the net, eyes on the other player’s predicting to which side and what sort of shot they’d hit next. However, there was silence from behind him.

“Hmm? Yah, pretty boy! How could you not have moved?”

He shrugged. “It was on your side. You should have gotten that.”

“If it’s over my head, then you have to get it.”

“It went out.”

“No, it didn’t. Are you blind? The lines in doubles are different, dummy. It was in.”

“Eh, no it wasn’t, moron. Watch what the ref—"

“Fifteen to Love!” (A/N: Love is Zero, fifteen is basically 1 point)

Daniel raised his eyebrow as Seongwoo scratched his head and flushed. “Oh. So the lines are different. I didn’t know. This is my very first time playing doubles.”

“Not even once? Jeez. Sometimes you might have to cover my back. The lines are the outside ones. Next time, I won’t trust you. I’ll just get it myself. Lazy sloth,” Daniel muttered, handsome face clearly frustrated and concerned as he faced the other two.

Jihoon was already prepared to serve again from the other side. Daniel motioned for Seongwoo to switch sides. Seongwoo was standing too close, so he yelled at him to go back farther and be prepared to run if it was needed. 

Jihoon’s this time was fast and short. Seongwoo ran up to it and sent the ball flying to the right. Woojin backhanded volleyed. Daniel thought he could smash it but the topspin threw it shorter than he expected. It dived under his racket.

“Damn!”  
Again there was no sound except of the ball bouncing. Daniel spun and glared, seeing that Seongwoo remained ready on the other side.

“I said you might have to cover me!”

“I wouldn’t if you stopped missing such an easy shot.”

“It took me by surprise is all!”

“Well, don’t let it. Think ahead. You know how they play! Tch, hopeless ogre.”

“Fucking lazy cat. Get it up so I can smash it already.”

“Thirty to Love!” (A/N: thirty is two points)

They grumbled and glared at each other as they switched sides and got read to play again. This time the serve was perfect. Seongwoo returned directly to Woojin fast and hard. Woojin was thrown off by the power and area the ball it. It sent the ball up into the air. However, the position was ambiguous. Daniel charged back and Seongwoo charged forward. They jumped at the same time, colliding in the air, their rackets crossing. The ball by some miracle was a nice drop-shot. 

They pair stumbled to one half of the court, ready for it to be sent back. Jihoon forehanded a slice shot down the middle. Neither of them moved. It hit the middle of the line and flew back into the fence with a loud clank.

“Fourty to Love! The game goes to the golden pair.” (A/N: Fourty would be the third point, if the score when one team reaches fourty is fourty to fifteen or less then the game is finished, there are six games played in a set, two sets in a match).

“That was yours!”

“No, it wasn’t! It was on your side. If you’re so greedy, you should have gotten it. Mister Ace~”

“You told me to give it to you. It was closer to you. What’s the use of your strong and long limbs if you don’t move them toward the ball?”

“I told you to stay back and get something if I missed it and to get the ball up so I could smash it. We hardly had a chance to play at all. Thanks to you not knowing anything. You don’t care about anything unless it’s singles, huh? So you didn’t even know the rules and wasted us two points! Ridiculous.”

“So what if I didn’t know? You could have told me before we started. Why did you assume that everyone knows? How dumb are you?’

“How dumb are YOU that you have watched a match but don’t know that much? It’s fucking common sense.”

“I’ve got a hell of a lot of common sense than you who easily missed three balls, stupid mutt!”

“Clearly you don’t recall who also let the ball just fly away because he’s too lazy or scared to break a sweat by running a bit, prissy sparkly princess!”

Jisung stepped forward once the set was over five games to one, taking away Seongwoo and Daniel’s rackets which they were slamming together like swords amongst their emotionally charged accusations. 

“They won by a landslide. Daniel and Seongwoo as well as their sole supporters Jaehwan, Seonho, and Hyunbin, you should drink Minhyun’s smoothie from hell. Also, that was a complete disaster. Worse than I expected truthfully. You should be embarrassed of your lousy tennis. The two of you don’t know the first thing about being in a team and you even fight while on the court. 

Your special mission before the match happens in two weeks is to improve your relationship. I want you to hang out together after practice and on the weekends every spare moment that you can. Do things that you both like. Discuss what you hate and your past memories. Then, after you know a good deal about each other, you should move on to how to strategize on a divided court so that you don’t make such a mess and cause injury to yourself. I’m certain you will hate the task but Captain’s orders are law hear. You know that.

Break’s over. Everyone back to practice.”

Of course, not everyone was allowed to return to practice unharmed. Minhyun and Guanlin swooped in with glasses of the smoothie drink. They each had to drink a large gulp of it and the five members passed out temporarily on the grassy grounds outside the court. Seongwoo was laying on Daniel’s chest, both of them still huffing and sweaty from their match, now looking like they were about to hurl.

“We would have had that if you had let me get the balls, Sleeping Beauty.”

“It was on my side though. You broke the rules, muscle head. That’s why we kept crashing.”

“That’s because the first couple of times it went down the middle and you didn’t go for it. So I couldn’t trust you anymore.”

“Tch. Sure, blame me for everything. That’s what you’re good at. I’m used to it.”

“I don’t blame you for everything.”

“Dude, I don’t even know why you don’t like me. The first time we met, you slapped my hand away and scowled at me. I was being decently polite if I remember, correctly.”

“That’s because it wasn’t the first time we met…” Daniel muttered lowly, turning his head to look at the courts.

Seongwoo turned his head to look up at him. “Neh? It wasn’t? Where did we…”

“Forget it. Ugh, the sun is blinding. Give me your cap.” Daniel stole Seongwoo’s hat and stuck it over his face to hide his expression.

“Hey, then what am I supposed to—”

“I’ll shade your eyes. Happy?”

“Tch. Who calls who lazy?” Seongwoo grumbled, looking up at Daniel’s large, tan hand that was shielding his eyes from the glaring sun. 

“You’re the king of laziness. Don’t even deny it. You have shoes with wheels because it’s troublesome to walk to school though your home is barely five minutes away.”

Seongwoo opened his mouth to retort but faltered. He had nothing to comment about that sad truth. Possibly he was the laziest person on Earth. He tightened his lips together, growing intrigued the more he stared at Daniel’s supple, smooth skin. Someone who played tennis as much and as hard as Daniel did should have rough calluses and caked, dead skin but his looked flawless and silky like a baby’s.

“We should do something after school. Any ideas?”

“Whatever. You’re noisy. Trying to sleep here.” Seongwoo lightly slapped Daniel’s stomach, closed eyes and button nose twitching.

Daniel smirked. He was thankful for the hit. It drew him out of his trance where he was counting Seongwoo’s many eyelashes. He’d gotten past fifty on one eye. He knew it was ridiculous, but he couldn’t seem to stop it until Seongwoo slapped him thankfully back to his senses. He hadn’t realized how long and lush they were before. It was annoying how Seongwoo was pretty everywhere, even such a mundane part. 

To be truthful, the time that he looked the prettiest was probably when he was sleeping or those extremely rare times that he smiled. When he was stoic, he looked cool and when he was arguing and looked irritated, it was cute. Seongwoo’s face was like a Noh mask. With each expression, he showed a completely different character. It was another reason he found Seongwoo uncomfortable and frustrating to be around. Those expressions messed with his emotions and he wished that the guy would simply choose one character and stick with it. 

“You really never change, cat napper. Doesn’t seem like those death potions are effective on you at all. Well, I’m starved. So I suggest we get some burgers. That good with you? You’re from America. You must have eaten burgers a lot.”

Seongwoo scrunched up his button nose. “Ignorant Fido. American food consists of more than junk.”

“Ha ha. Sorry, but I am ignorant about American culture. Why don’t you enlighten me?”

“Why would I? I’m not getting paid to teach you about cultures.”

“Um, because we’re supposed to get to know each other?” Daniel pointed out in a mocking tone.

Seongwoo frowned, groomed, thin brows furrowing. “Ugh. That. What does knowing about each other have anything to do with working as a team? I doubt that we’d suddenly become best friends and stop fighting just because we know each other’s likes and dislikes.”

“Yeah, I don’t get it either. But we’re sort of stuck here. If we don’t at least try, who knows what Jisung will do? What if we’re stuck in doubles forever? What if he gives our regular position to someone else and we’re stuck coaching like Sungwoon was? What if—”

Seongwoo’s eyes popped open and they shared the same horrified, daunting expression. “Oh god. What if he threatens us with Minhyun’s poison?”

“Exactly what I was going to say.” Daniel grinned crookedly.

“Tch. Liar.” Seongwoo seemed doubtful. 

“Honestly. Why would I lie about that?”

“I don’t know. You just look like a liar.”

“What the--? How on earth do I look like a liar? Everyone I know tells me I can’t lie. It’s written all over my sweet, innocent puppy face.”

“Well…I do acknowledge that. You can’t lie. Your emotions are popping out all over your face like a comic book. But that doesn’t mean you don’t attempt to.”

“What have I ever lied about?” Daniel scoffed in disbelief at the elder’s accusatory tone. 

“That we met before, for example. If we met before, then you would have said something about it at least on the day we met.”

Daniel avoided his suspicious, searching eyes.

“Well, maybe it wasn’t a good memory for me…”

“Really? Did I do something?”

“Yes. But no. Ugh, just forget it. Let’s go eat. I’m too hungry to talk let alone think or play right now. Get up, pretty boy.”

Seongwoo scowled as he got up, rubbing the back of his head that could somehow still feel the firm, warm pillow he’d been using as if it were stamped in his brain. Daniel pulled off some unnecessary fancy trick, showing off his muscles and flexibility. Then he slammed the cap low on Seongwoo’s head, took their rackets in hand and went towards the locker rooms. 

Seongwoo righted his cap, shooting his broad shoulders a nasty look before following him reluctantly. He had no other choice, though he’d much rather eat dinner with an actual puppy.

 

“I’ll take that.”

“What for? We didn’t make a bet about that in the end and we both lost, so you don’t need to carry my stuff.”

“You just seem like such a weak damsel in distress carrying this bag around that’s over half your size.” Daniel shrugged with a bratty smirk, tossing Seongwoo’s bag over his shoulder.

Seongwoo scowled and kicked his shin before sassily leaving. Daniel followed behind while half whining, half laughing, limping with exaggeration to hopefully make Seongwoo feel bad. Even if he did, though, he would never apologize. The most that he’d ever gotten from him was a pack of ice one time and a ‘my bad, but you should have dodged faster, you big, slow mutt’ when they’d been in a match and twist serve had bruised his hand. 

Daniel knew that the things that Seongwoo hated to hear the most were slurs about him being girly, weak, small, or pretty. He enjoyed using them to tick them off, when he was in a good mood or a terrible mood all the more. It made him feel better, seeing the emotional robot look frustrated. 

Another thing that irritated Seongwoo was how much he talked and how he was always smiling. He said that his voice was like bugs tickling his ears and his smile much too bright that it needed to be painted over. 

The blonde caught up to Seongwoo, babbling about whatever came to his mind, mostly stories of the members they knew or his teachers or his cats. Seongwoo mostly grunted, forcing his thin lips into an almost invisible line, staying his usual serious, chic self. Sometimes his brows furrowed and his eyes twitched when he glanced over for more than two seconds because of Daniel’s smiling face.

“Do you always laugh at everything you say? Moron. I get that it’s funny but it already happened several days ago. Why is it still funny after retelling it a hundred times? Well, that part I’m assuming.”

“I don’t know. When I think something is funny, I laugh about it for weeks. No matter if I retell it over a hundred times, it’s still funny to me. I’m odd, huh?”

“You have no idea. You’re one of the oddest people ever. Your names for moves are weird too. Dunk smash? Super dunk? Jack knife?”

“Eh~ No one can be as odd as you. Do you know what’s the oddest thing? Besides that you’re a robot and totally look like a girl.”

That earned him another swift kick, this time from the back which wasn’t easy to dodge. He barely felt it though. Seongwoo hadn’t kicked him with full strength. Daniel wasn’t sure if it was because he was tired or his wise cracks were losing effect or Seongwoo was attempting to hold himself back because of the mission the captain had given him. Either way, he was thankful to not add to the bruises the ace inflicted. 

“What’s odd to me is that you have all these sayings I think you don’t even realize. Like ‘you’re noisy’. And when you play, you often say, ‘still got a long way to go’.”

“Ah, hmm…Those are things I picked up from my dad. In many ways we’re similar. I picked up his character. My mother stayed in Korea and my dad took me after their divorce. He thought I’d receive better education and coaching in America. I’ve spent a lot more time with him and I must have adopted some of his habits. Do I say that a lot?”

He paused his steps, looking up at the sky and poking at his pointy chin, lost in thought for a moment. Daniel continued on with an amused grin.

“Hmm, at least once a day and match, I believe.”

Seongwoo returned to walking. They fell into step, Daniel having to shorten his strides a little for the one with shorter legs. “Well, not as bad then. My dad says it at least three times.”

“Ah, well, in that case. You’ve still got a long way to go before you become as anti-noise as your pops.”

For possibly the first time forever, Daniel heard the delightful sound of Seongwoo’s laugh. It wasn’t a scoff or a snicker. It was a genuine amused adorable giggle. He smiled wider, tilting his head to look at his face better and poked the other’s fluffy, creamy cheek.

“Oh, my god. The robot can laugh. Is he broken? Do we need to get him repaired?” he commented with mock horror, teasingly poking him some more as he attempted to stifle his giggles with his hands.

Daniel ducked down to see better under his white cap. He liked the way that Seongwoo’s large, round eyes curled up into crescents and warmed considerably when he smiled. When he was laughing, it was all the more pleasant to look at. He appeared much more approachable and younger, even more than Daniel did. 

He thought Seongwoo looked much better smiling and laughing and should do it more often. He didn’t dare tell him that though because that was against bro code. Not to mention they were rivals who spent half their breaths since they got on the team insulting each other the last month. It would be weird if he started complimenting Seognwoo to his face (that didn’t mean that he didn’t do it behind his back here and there with the right people who wouldn’t go blaring it to him and ruining Daniel’s rep). Seongwoo lightly flushed, looking like a ripe peach and pushed Daniel’s hand away. 

“Shut up.” 

He attempted to sound fierce and intimidating but failed rather miserably.  
Daniel teased him some more. They laughed all the way to the hamburger restaurant, rubbing their aching stomachs as they went inside. Seongwoo showed shock when Daniel ordered two full sets after he ordered just a burger and a coke. 

“You can’t possibly eat all of that?”

“Uh, yeah, I can. It’s natural. I’m a growing teen. Maybe if you ate like me you wouldn’t be a shrimp.”

“Hey, I’m no shrimp! I eat a normal amount and I’ve grown nearly as tall as you,” Seongwoo said defensively, straightening up his shoulders so that his height increased a couple centimeters.

“Really? Why doesn’t it seem like we’re close in height at all? Must be because you’re a stick. At least get some fries. Put some fat on your bones, you scarecrow.”

“There’s nothing wrong with being lean. Lean means I can move fast and avoid balls easier…” the elder grumbled with a subtle pout as they took their trays up to the second floor.

“Sounds like something your dad told you to make you feel better,” Daniel responded with a chuckle. “I used to be scrawny too. I drank a lot of milk and ate a lot of vegetables. My mother made me do a hundred push-ups every day since the fifth grade. That’s how my shoulders got like this.”

“A…hundred?” Seongwoo nearly choked, then heated subtly. “I can barely do twenty…”

“Well, now you know the Kang family’s greatest kept secret. If you want broad shoulders, you should do push-ups. Lots and lots.”

“Ugh, sounds bothersome…”

They sat down at a table, tray exactly in the middle. The first thing they both took was their drinks.

Daniel ended up laughing and pointing his finger instead of drinking. 

“Ha ha! There it is! Your other crunch word. ‘bothersome,’ ‘troublesome’. You know what you remind me of? That one grumpy cat you see in memes. Like he’s cute but he’s always ‘hmph’ in the face with these big sort of ‘I’m done with life, just kill me now’ eyes. That’s you one hundred percent.”

Seongwoo tilted his head with a blank expression, cheeks hallowed in as he sucked form his straw. “Hmm…Not sure what you’re talking about.”

Daniel rolled his eyes and pulled out his phone. Food could wait, he figured. Educating this outdated foreigner was much more important. “What kind of teenager in this day and age never goes on SNS?”

“I do though. I go on Instagram.”

Daniel looked up with doubtful, unblinking eyes. “Huh. YOU have an Insta? I wonder what pictures you would have on there. I feel like you’d stop taking a picture halfway through because you’re sleepy or it’s ‘bothersome’.”

“Will you shut up and let me live for a minute, you jerk?” Seongwoo punished him with a kick, a small, amused smile creeping up his face. 

“You’re fun to tease though. You should know that by now. If you don’t want me to keep teasing you, don’t react.”

“What you say is so ridiculous or mean though. How can I not?”

“Likewise. How you act is arrogant and rude and mean. You’re worse. Today I said one sentence to you and you told me to shut up. Case in point.”

Seongwoo shrugged, admitting, “Usually peppy people bother me. And people that are tall and muscular. And people that act before the think. That’s four strikes against you. It was fated that we wouldn’t get along.”

“I’m a lot more than just that though. I have some redeeming qualities. You’ll see.”

“Same here then. I think.”

 

Daniel chuckled. “You think? So you don’t know if you’re a good person or not either.”

He commented while playing with some fries. “I’m not an extremely likable person, I know that. But I wouldn’t say I’m a bad or completely hateful person.”

“Usually here I’d say ‘I beg to differ’, but since we’re teammates I feel obliged to say that you’re not at all hateful. Anyway, this is the cat I’m talking about.”

Daniel held out his phone while Seongwoo bent in closer. He hummed as Daniel scrolled down through several images. 

“Hmm, it’s cute. And funny. I don’t know how that looks like me though.”

Daniel had stopped looking at the phone at one point and merely ended up staring at Seongwoo who was the closest they’d ever been without fighting. “True. You’re prettier.”

“Shut up!” Seongwoo sat back, turning pink, looking extremely irritated. 

Daniel laughed, setting aside his phone and grabbing his hamburger. “What? That’s a compliment!”

“It sounds like an insult.”

“Well, it wasn’t. You’re a pretty sort of handsome. Features like a sculpture. Big, sparkling eyes. Charming starry moles.”

Seongwoo pulled down his hat but not in time for Daniel to see him flushing deeply and fighting a smile. “Okay, stop. That’s creeping me out. I think I prefer the insults.”

“No, it’s helping us clear out the bad air between us. It’s a good thing. We’ve hardly ever said a good thing about the other in the whole month we’ve known each other. Why don’t you try? Complement me.”

“The burgers are getting cold. I’ll think about it as I eat.”

“Sure. But it’s your turn. I’m not going to say a kind thing until you do next,” Daniel teased lightly as he passed over Seongwoo’s burger.

To further break the awkward ice between them, as they ate they played a finger counting game. The winner got to ask a question they were curious about. If one person didn’t answer, they took a slap on the wrist. 

The questions were just basic likes and dislikes and general questions about their childhood. Daniel liked Marvel the best of all superhero series. Seongwoo liked the color black and usually only wore that on his off days. They had similar music tastes. Both really liked DPR, Daft Punk, and Bruno Mars. Seongwoo hated working out. Daniel worked out regularly to keep his body toned so that he’d be more powerful on stage. Seongwoo had led a privileged life. Daniel’s life had been less fortunate but full of love. They were both from divorced families and moved around a lot. Their mothers both liked gardening and their fathers both liked collecting sports cards. 

These facts were peppered with their usual jokes and playful jabs, but overall the atmosphere between them gradually became less hostile. Daniel suggested they p\ay one final game before leaving, this time the winner would get an ‘anything goes’ chance. Whatever question it was, the other had to answer. Seongwoo was the one to win. Daniel didn’t appear phased. He sat back with his hands behind his head, wearing a confident grin.

“Go on. Ask me anything.”

"I can really ask anything I want?" 

"Yes, even if I pooped this morning." 

Seongwoo became utterly appalled. "Why would I do that? Ew." 

"What's ew? It's a natural bodily function. Ah, I see, you must not poop. You're all backed up. Well, that sure explains your attitude." Daniel snickered. 

Seongwoo tossed down his burger and pushed aside the tray, making a face. "Ugh. I can't eat the rest of your burger." 

"What's taking you so freaking long? It's just one burger. I already had two." 

"You inhaled. I saw no chewing involved." 

"Whatever, princess." 

"Anyway. Sidetracking. You must be scared." Seongwoo smirked, doe eyes twinkling with mischief. 

"Nope. I'm only scared of one thing." Daniel smiled secretively.

"What's that?" Seongwoo responded with genuine interest. 

"Is that your question? Sure you want to use your chance card on that?" Daniel teased, wiggling his brows. 

"Ah, no! It's not!" He panicked, waving both of his hands frantically. 

"Haha. Good. Because that would have been a waste. You will likely find out when we're outside anyway, especially when the summer hits. Surprised that you don't...Well, I take that back. I'm not really surprised. You hardly care or pay attention to anyone. So you wouldn't know." 

Seongwoo sulked, his thin lips turning into a pouty frown. "Stop trying to make me into a bad guy. Like you're a freaking angel." 

"At least I know how to talk to people. You're a nasty recluse with a social disorder." 

"Hey, I know things about people. A little. I know that you have four cats you adopted from the street. I know that Minhyun has a crush on Jaehwan. I know that Guanlin is from Taiwan. I know that Jinyoung once got tipsy on accident and kissed Daehwi on the cheek." 

"Oh~ not so bad. Maybe there's hope for you yet, you loner." Daniel performed a slow clap.

Seongwoo grunted. "Stop with the insults. We're supposed to be teammates. Notice I haven't used any on you for awhile." 

"Why not? It's weird that you haven't. Just be comfortable. Be yourself. I'm not going to stop just yet." 

"Ugh, I hate you. Stupid slobbering puppy." 

"Same here, Jan. Ask your question before I cancel the offer." 

"Okay, so...Tell me about the time that we met." 

"It's not a question-- ah! That hurt! You almost got my balls!" The blonde yelped, clutching his thigh. 

"I'm serious. It's bothering me. I can't place you and I'm curious about what I did to you."

"It's not a Blockbuster Film. It's just an everyday occurrence for you. Where you piss someone off and then proceed to kick their ass while teaching them a lesson. So I was on my way home from school in the fifth grade, taking the subway. These guys were showing off how to swing. They almost hit me in the face. You stood up and..."

 

Flashback

 

"Careful where you swing that. The subway isn’t a place to practice. You learned it wrong anyway, so I wouldn't go bragging about it. The way you grip should be like this." 

This short, skinny, handsome man in all black cap included scolded the men who were at least four years older and wearing the uniforms of a school known for their expertise in sports. He showed them how to do the shot using his own racket with a cool expression and then briskly left. 

The men and Daniel got off at the next stop. He followed them outside, overhearing they we're going to find that brat and beat his ass with tennis, show him he didn't know more than them and he shouldn't be so arrogant. Daniel wanted to see more of his hero and thank him. 

The tennis that he saw that day was unbelievably skillful and exciting. Those guys couldn't score a single point on his hero, even after two hours of playing. Daniel watched from the public stands of the park courts, never feeling bored and clapping for the younger genius player. He had never thought tennis could be interesting until then. 

Suddenly, he wanted to learn to play. Maybe if that hyung was free he'd teach him. He was so handsome cool though Daniel wasn't sure if he would have enough courage to ask him. After the match was over, the older boys disappeared with gloomy faces and defeated postures while the winner acted like he couldn't care much less. 

"Ah, such troublesome guys. I wasted my practice time on them. They were too easy. Now I've got no energy left," He complained as he ordered a sweet cool peach flavored drink. 

"Um...hello." 

Daniel crept up, bowing and muttering a polite greeting. He straightened up, shyly smiling and fidgeting with his bag straps pulled in front of his stomach. 

"Hello," the man greeted back, nodding slightly with a curious look and awkward half smile that made his pretty face warm and soft. 

Daniel still found him intimidating despite he was happy that the man wasn't as unfriendly as with the guys before. He'd looked at them like they were disgusting bugs he wanted to step on quickly. He hadn't once smiled since Daniel had seen him. It was nice to see even if it was just half. He went from handsome and cool to soft and pretty.

"I was on the subway earlier. Those guys were about to give my face a new hole. Thank you for stopping them." 

He nodded briskly and then took a long swig of the drink before putting in money for another one. Yet he had not finished the first and he was getting the same one. Daniel tilted his head in confusion. He noticed they were almost the same height. He wondered if they were close in age then. 

"My name is Daniel. Nice to meet you."

Instead of shaking his hand he put the drink in it. "You finally introduced yourself. I was just about to call you puppy since you look like one. My name's Seongwoo. Earlier I wasn't really trying to help you out, puppy boy. I'm not a hero type. Those guys were just too noisy. They ruined my nap and I was irritated." 

"Ah, I see. Still, thank you, hyung. You're like a hero though. Especially on the court. You looked really cool. I want to learn tennis too." 

"Hmm, sure. Anyone can if they try. I would offer to teach you some basics but I'll be leaving soon." 

"Oh...to where?" Daniel's head dropped face sunk with disappointment. He'd just made a friend but he was already going to have to get ready for goodbyes. 

"To America. I'm moving there with my dad." 

His face sank further. "Oh, that's far..." 

"Yeah, it is."  
Too far. He'd probably never be able to visit him there and there was no way to learn tennis from him. 

"Can you speak English?" He wondered. 

Seongwoo hesitated and then shrugged. "Kind of." 

"Do you understand this, hyung? I like you!" Daniel blurted out a confession, face flaming afterwards. 

Seongwoo seemed taken aback. Then he smiled and pat the other on the head. Daniel expected something but he really shouldn't have. With one cool sentence, the man broke his heart for the first time and disappeared. "Not really interested."

 

End Flashback

 

"Oh. Oh, the puppy boy who confessed after seeing me play. I vaguely remember that. You sure grew a lot and dyed your hair too. You were as small as me and you had glasses. So, did I upset you?" 

Daniel stared at him, flabbergasted. Seongwoo really hadn’t changed. He had no clue about people’s feelings or the effect of certain words and tones. 

"Yeah. I was confessing honestly. It was a short period but that was my first crush. You brushed me away so coldly." 

"To be fair, I didn't mean that I wasn't interested in guys. I wasn’t making a slight at your preference, Daniel. I merely meant I had no interested in dating at the time." 

"What?! Seriously?! You could have given more specifics. Not broken a little boy's heart to pieces and make him feel like he was dirty." 

"Well...Yes, I admit that was thoughtless and insensitive of me. I'm sorry." 

Daniel was taken aback by hearing those words he thought the other couldn't say. "Thanks. It's fine." 

It still wasn’t really, but he’d get over it eventually. That was a long time ago and they’d cleared up the air about it. 

"It wasn't though. I left you with a bad memory and didn't realize who you were. So that's why you were hostile from the beginning." 

Daniel laughed sheepishly, scratching the back of his neck and sticking out his tongue. "At first, yeah. I was going to try and let bygones be bygones since we were young and you didn’t know me, but then you dug yourself deeper and deeper. Before I knew it, I basically couldn't stand you. 

Whenever we're around each other, I want to bother you and wipe that arrogance out. Not hurt you but bring you back down to my level? I felt like we could be friends after I did that. After I got back at you and we were more like equals." 

"Ah, I see. Makes sense. Well, having a rival and arguing with you has been fun in its own way. I don't have a brother and I moved around too much to warm up and get close friends. But I imagine they would be like you if I had one. Or so I would want them to be." 

"Oh my God. Doesn't that count as a compliment?" Daniel couldn’t help but feel a bit excited, blushing slightly at the flattery. 

Seongwoo scratched his head, looking uncomfortable, avoiding his gaze. "Maybe a back handed one." 

"Whatever. I'll take it. The ace finally complimented me." 

"As good as you're going to get likely. So, how do you feel now?" He stopped scratching, turning hopeful, glistening kitten eyes on him. 

Daniel grinned wide. "After admitting that and having a genuine talk with you? Better. Like maybe we could be something like friends. At least that we can get through this upcoming match as a team without killing each other."

Seongwoo visibly relaxed, grinning slightly. "I hope so. Because if our terrible playing doesn't kill us, I think Jisung might." 

"Can't really blame him, right? We're obnoxious." 

The familiar scrunching button nose that was tempting to boop appeared. "That's mostly you, Shu Shu." 

"Nope. You're definitely the largest handful, Nero."

 

Daniel was staring at the inside of his locker with a silly grin on his face. He zoned out while staring at the capped, handsome man that decorated the inside of the door. He didn’t notice when a bandana covered black, shaggy haired head with the tiniest face in existence popped up over his shoulder, emitting a dark, heavy aura.

“Jesus! You scared the life out of me, Jinyoung! Don’t go sneaking around like a freaking snake.”

“Eh, hyung. That’s my move’s name, not what I am. Snakes are not as cool or quiet as I am.”

“I stand corrected.”

He went to shut his locker door but Jinyoung stopped it with his foot, using his superior thinness and incredible flexibility to slide in and get a good look.

“Woah. It’s Seongwoo. Hyung, why is your locker decorated with Seongwoo’s photos? Are you a stalker? A fan boy? Or is this some sort of voodoo trick?”

“I-It’s n-nothing. Pretend you didn’t see anything.” Daniel flushed deeply, heart racing now from panic instead of terror. He kicked at Jinyoung’s foot and pulled at the door desperately.

Jinyoung smirked evilly, not letting him close the door. “Uh-huh. I can only do that if you tell me what that was all about.”

“I’m sort of…a fan? Something like that. I’ve been following him from a long time ago. He’s been my rival and he used to be my hero. This is just for motivational purposes.”

“Huh. Would have bet on the voodoo. That’s weird though. If you admire him and think of him as a hero, why are you both nasty to each other?”

“It’s…complicated. He starts it most of the time. I admire his tennis skills. I’m not a fan of his real personality thus far though. He’s much more irritating than I thought. Let’s put it that way.”

“Hmm, maybe you’re putting him on too much of a pedestal from the beginning? Or maybe you’re being too harsh without getting to know him? Usually people are complex. There’s always more than meets the eye. I never thought of Seongwoo hyung as so bad. He’s a bit rough and casual, but isn’t that because of his upbringing?”

“Nah, not really. I met him when I was younger. He was like that as well. His parents are Koreans too. They weren’t raised in another country. That doesn’t give him much of an excuse. He’s a rotten egg.”

Jinyoung snickered and teased, “But a handsome one with genius skills that makes you secretly smile when no-one is around.”

Daniel snarled and lightly bumped the younger with his arm. “Shut up. You saw nothing. You know nothing. Got it?”

Jinyoung smiled evilly, looking like the son of the devil and nearly as dark. “I can but it’s going to cost. What can you give me for my silence on a secret this juicy?”

Daniel stared off into space for a minute as he thought hard. Then, he snapped his fingers.

“I got it. You like Daehwi.”

Jinyoung was the one flushing and looking panicked then. He released the locker and Daniel victoriously slammed it shut. The tall man with the gloomy, rather intense aura fidgeted with his shirt, staring down at the floor.

“Why is that a statement and not a question?”

“Because it’s obvious. Everyone pretty much knows it. I bet even Daehwi knows it.”

“Oh, that wouldn’t be good. Am I that obvious?”

“Totally. Just say his name and you turn into a tomato and you smile. That’s pretty much the only thing and person that can get you to smile, you realize? It’s impossible not to know. Anyway, I’ll let you know Daehwi’s Insta. He’s got a lot of cute selfies on there.”

“S-selfies?” 

Daneil chuckled, patting the younger on the shoulder. “I can see your gay knees wobbling already. You’re really whipped. Yes, must be over a hundred of them. Winking, making hearts, blowing kisses. You want it?”

“K-kissing selfies…” Jinyoung appeared like he was feverish and a couple seconds away from fainting, his hands covering his mouth like a bashful schoolgirl.

Daniel fell on his shoulder, laughing for a full minute before he was able to speak again. 

“That’s what did you in, huh? Yes, I saw a couple of those. You’ll definitely want to peek and save them, I’m sure. I’m the only one on the team that knows of it. I discovered it by chance. If you want to be the second, then you have to keep my secret. Not even a hint that there’s something weird in my locker.”

“Okay. I’ll do it. Hurry and tell me.”

Jinyoung’s fingers fumbled and almost dropped his phone in his haste to get it out of his pocket, his expression dead serious.

“You’re so hopeless haha. I hope I never fall for someone this terribly as you do. That sort of power in another person’s hand seems dangerous.”

“I’d be happy even if Daehwi stepped on me at this point. I’m a goner. You be careful or you’ll end up the same with Seongwoo.”

Daniel finished inputting the ID and then bopped the other on his bandana covered head. “Stop with the nonsense. I told you it’s not like that. It’s just motivation. He’s my rival, that’s all it is.”

Jinyoung smirked as he flipped through Daehwi’s Instagram rapidly, teasing, “Sure, sure, that’s all it is.”

“Shut up, I said!” Daniel responded with a flustered laugh, shaking the other’s shoulder and blushing furiously for some unknown reason.

 

That weekend, Seongwoo invited Daniel through text to join him on his excursion. It wasn’t any sort of amazing adventure. It was simply riding bikes along the river side, eating some ice cream, and then taking a nap in the grass. Daniel found it surprisingly enjoyable. He usually preferred to stay inside on the weekend, snacking on jellies and dried kim, playing games, reading comics, or watching movies, but getting sun and napping after filling their bellies and straining their muscles wasn’t so bad. 

That was possibly the best nap of his life. Until he woke up with Seongwoo snuggling him, laying on his chest, arm and leg slung over his body loosely. That nearly gave him a heart attack. He wanted to jump away but he stopped himself when he saw that the other was fast asleep. He appeared peaceful and he was smiling serenely. His button nose twitched and he nuzzled and squeezed his body as if he were a kitten burrowing into a blanket. 

He was quite adorable…in an irritating way. Fearing that his heart would burst out of his chest and unable to stomach the giggles and stares of the passing girls who were jogging along the river, Daniel as carefully as possible rolled Seongwoo back to the grass. He wasn’t able to remove his arm. Seongwoo continued to use it as a pillow. Seeing that his fair skin was directly in the sun and worried he might burn, Daniel held his hand up to block the sun, watching that kitten like man sleep more. 

As he watched Seongwoo’s handsome face, he thought about what they’d talked about today. It hadn’t been much of anything special. He learned they both disliked bugs and couldn’t swim so well. They both liked boats and wanted to own one someday. Seongwoo used to be good at drawing landscapes but he can’t draw people well. Daniel could only draw cartoon-style characters. Their favorite street foods were the same but for meals Daniel preferred things that were spicy and Korean while Seongwoo preferred salty, sour, or creamy foods that were Western. 

They had the same foot size so they could share shoes if it was necessary. Seongwoo’s waist was so slender Daniel’s arms fit around him nearly twice (awkward back hug moment had occurred to test the theory since Seongwoo didn’t believe his statement). Seongwoo liked to read novels and write poetry and take photos. He wasn’t good at games and he fell asleep whenever he tried to watch a movie unless it was horror. 

He was good at taking selfies, a professional really. He was active on Instagram and had a ridiculous amount of followers, though he rarely smiled despite his followers asking him frequently to. They both loved their cats like they were family and had a folder with tons of photos and videos of them. They’d stopped insulting and comparing which cat was better, realizing that had been petty and all pets had their own unique personality and charms like people do. 

Overall, he’d learned that there was a lot that he didn’t know or expected about Seongwoo. Things that made the genius, pompous, rude ace seem a lot more human. He was cutely childlike and had a secret sensitive side. He could be clumsy, got lost easily, and it took awhile for him to follow along with a story or explanation—those quirks were especially endearing since the whole world thought of him as talented and naturally good at almost everything.

After hanging out with him a couple of hours, Daniel gradually found himself hating Seongwoo less and not wanting to argue with him so much. They had barely argued that day whereas the last time had still been about half. They weren’t so polite to each other in text. Every other word was some sort of order or name calling. Daniel figured he should work on that. 

Now that they were almost friendly acquaintances who could have at least ten minutes of normal conversation without choking each other, maybe it was time to discuss their doubles strategy. They’d merely been playing wall tennis together and casually rallying back and forth to learn each other’s habits and styles in hopes that they picked them up and could collaborate better on the field by predicting where the other was going and what they would do without having to say it out loud and spoil it for their opponents. If they didn’t want to be humiliated though, they’d need to eventually play Woojin and Jihoon again a few times at least. 

“Should I wake him up? Seongwoo hyung? Seongwoo? Seongwoo-yah…” he drifted off, his voice becoming softer until it faded completely. He was laying on his side, looking at the other with a gentle smile. Seongwoo’s nose twitched every two seconds because a stray hair on the bridge was bothering him. He carefully brushed it away and then poked at his starry moles. His skin was incredibly smooth and silky. Even though he was tracing his features curiously while admiring and wishing he could be half as blessed with a bone structure like a sculpture, Seongwoo’s eyelids didn’t even flutter. He was sound asleep.

I’ll let him by. He’s amusing to watch. How is it that he seems to get cuter and prettier as he gets older? 

 

The next time the met up after practice, Daniel took Seongwoo to the arcade. He barely remembered what happened there. They got so into the games that they barely talked about anything casual or tennis related. They merely acted like the teenagers they were. 

Daniel recalled laughing a lot because Seongwoo was horrendous at everything. When he lost, he absolutely tanked in the most comical way and his reactions were so dramatic. After seeing his emotional reactions, Daniel had some idea why the ace always refused to play games when the others invited him. He would have become a laughing stock and his image would have been ruined. 

This was not the all-talented, confident, chic, broody Seongwoo that they all knew. This was a ‘how the fuck did I die this time’ Seongwoo. Who cursed and slammed his hands on things. Who sulked and stomped his feet like a child in the middle of a full-fledged tantrum. Seongwoo could even fake cry, who knew that? While he fake cried on Daniel’s shoulder, Daniel pat his back, having a hard time breathing because he was laughing so hard. 

 

Seongwoo had noticed here and there that Daniel was a caring person. He did nice things for his team members. He treated them like family. He was kind to everyone and a born gentleman. Never with him though. Until they’d become teammates. 

It started with walking with him back home while carrying his bag to other little gentlemanly things. It accumulated while they were at a café, Seongwoo’s choice of ‘date.’ Daniel pulled out his chair for him. He got their drinks. He paid for everything and surprised him by getting him a piece of cheesecake because it seemed like he needed a sugar dose since he was dozing off earlier. He brushed stray hairs from Seongwoo’s head. He wiped his mouth with a napkin. He gifted him with this seal Pokemon doll he’d been trying to get from the claw machine and lost all his change on at the arcade the day before. 

It was too much kindness from his past rival at once. 

“Why are you being nice to me?” he muttered with a suspicious look while fiddling with the fluffy white flippers of the doll resting on the table. 

“Eh? Have I been?” The blonde tilted his head and pursed out his plump lips as if he had no idea what Seongwoo was talking about.

“Yes, you have been. But you usually aren’t. You didn’t notice?”

“Right, I didn’t. I guess I am nice without thinking. It just felt natural to do that for you. You don’t like it?”

His face heated and he chewed on his lip as he looked down at the seal, now poking it’s tummy. “Well, it’s not that I don’t like it. I don’t really mind it. I feel a little bit like a child but it’s not…unpleasant. I was just wondering. You’ve always been nice to others but not to me…”

“Hmm. I guess things are different. Now that you apologized for the past and we’ve become teammates. I still see you as a rival still, but I don’t find you as detestable or irritating as before. Your personality isn’t as bad as I thought. Though you’re still pretty blunt, bratty, and arrogant. I think once you get used to that, it becomes your charm, oddly enough. Like a different sort of tough guy? The opposite of me?”

“Ah, you mean how you look intimidating but really you’re a marshmallow. So I’m the opposite? I look soft but I’m hard? I appear approachable but I’m not that friendly?”

“Yeah, something like that. Your personality is more rough but by just a glance—if you’re not scowling but say sleeping—you look as nice and sweet as Snow White.”

Seongwoo’s nose scrunched and large, dark eyes narrowed. “There you go again with the princess comments. I thought we agreed to keep the insults and offensive nicknames to a minimum for the time being.”

“Sorry, haha. Old habits die hard, I guess. Maybe we can change the fact that we hate each other but unless you go through surgery or grow a beard, you remain pretty.” Daniel guiltily grinned, pulling at his silver earring.

“I’m…trying to take that as a compliment but it’s still hard.” Seongwoo bit back a smile, feeling a bit uncomfortable and hid his flushed cheeks with his cap.

“Handsome then. You’re very handsome like a prince.”

He pulled his cap down more and ducked his head. The smile came out in the end. “That’s…a bit better.”

Daniel laid against his hands low on the table to get a look at Seongwoo’s face, teasing with a large grin, “Ha ha ha. Look at you flushing every compliment you get. Aren’t you used to hearing that from your fans? You have a lot. Ah, maybe it’s different coming from a guy? You’re cute.”

“You’re cuter.”

Their eyes both popped massively at the first ever genuine, direct compliment that came out of Seongwoo’s mouth. Seongwoo put up his hands, fidgeting with the brim of his cap, muttering, “I mean. You’re cuter because...you’re a puppy. Puppies are cuter than grumpy cats. That’s all.”

Daniel relaxed, handsome, fluffy face splitting into a huge grin and his eyes disappearing in an attractive manner. “Usually I don’t like to be called that but since it’s coming from you, hyung. I’ll take it.”

 

The match that the pair were in this time was completely different than before. It wasn’t that the opposite team was bad. They weren’t nearly as good as their school’s golden pair but they weren’t awful either. 

To put it simply, Daniel and Seongwoo had become people that their team members didn’t recognize. Their doubles tennis this time around was impressive, especially their teammwork. They seemed almost like a professional team. 

Unlike last time, they didn’t divide up the court to control. They switched back and forth with subtle finger signs and random sounds, letting each other know where they were going next and what strategic move they were planning. They put their full trust in each other and paid attention to each other rather than just the other team and the ball. They were lenient with who got time with the ball, but they wouldn’t give up the opportunity if it came their way. 

It was the perfect balance of challenging and passing that kept them both from being exhausted or arguing. Their synergy was simply better and they knew each other’s playing styles well compared to the other team. It was an effortless win. They won two sets so there was no need for a third. 

Their whole team applauded them, commenting on how the amount of progress they’d made in less than two weeks had been remarkable and asking them to spill their secrets. The pair said it was all thanks to Jisung’s ideas and their own genius. That if it was any other player it wouldn’t be possible. The others were used to Seongwoo’s arrogance, but it was interesting to see Daniel who was usually rather shy and humble with genuine compliments acting like a copy of the ace. They teased them that they were becoming more alike each other and that was dangerous because they didn’t need two Seongwoo’s, so they should stop hanging out. Neither responded to that but shared secretive grins.

Jisung wrapped his arms around the pair with a proud, ecstatic smile.

“Good job, you two. I’m proud of you. That was exactly the kind of progress I was looking for. You put on a good show. It seems like you’ve learned a lot and become closer. Now you know that doubles isn’t so easy and you have a taste of what it’s like. So if I need to make a team, I can put you together.”

They both commented that they’d still prefer singles but if they were forced to be doubles they could do it for the team. Though they joked that they’d rather be put with someone not such a pain in the ass. Jisung chuckled, amused at how they were oddly in sync even in their insults and that there was more kinship there than animosity. They’d become friendly rivals, possibly even actual friends in a short time. They didn’t fight and they even had their own special handshake. 

It was a miracle. No-one had gotten injured, they hadn’t embarrassed the team or ruined their reputation, and they hadn’t argued at all.

“Huh. I can’t believe it worked. If I had known it would be that simple to get those two to get along, I would have done that weeks ago. Jeez. That was damn impressive. I don’t think I could even play doubles that well…”

“Eh~ What are you saying, hyung? Don’t you remember last year when we knocked out the nation’s top five double teams together?” Sungwoon came over, slinging his arm over the captains shoulder and stealing him away with a bright grin. 

“Ah, how did I forget that? I was worried one day you might actually set yourself and the court on fire with your passion.”

“My match is coming up soon. Shall I burn the place to the ground in the name of our legendary Cap?”

Jisung chuckled and affectionately pat Sungwoon’s muscular chest. “That’s fine. How about you take it easy. I put you up with an opponent that will be a breeze for you. I was hoping that you won’t get too worked up. You need to be careful or you’ll re-injure yourself.”

“Aw, our Cap is so caring. Careful of that or I might fall for you.”

“You haven’t already? You sure do make a fella misunderstand.”

They jokingly flirted and made comical kissy faces at each other. Funnily enough, the juniors appeared shocked, asking if they were actually dating. Minhyun popped up behind Jaehwan who was on the benches, pulling a leaf out of his curly hair that had gotten blown in there. 

“They’re not. They just like to mess around. They’re close friends. The only ones that I know of for sure who are together are the Parks.”

“Seems like everyone on this team is gay. What about you, hyung? Are you with someone too? Ah, possibly Guanlin?”

Jaewan rolled his head back to look at the tall elder. Minhyun smiled down at him, appearing softer than any had ever seen him. That look was only meant for his not so secret crush. Everyone basically knew except the incredibly dense junior himself. He playfully flicked the other on the nose.

“Silly. I do like someone on the team but it’s not Guanlin. He’s much shorter and cuter than that.”

“Ah, is that so…” Jaehwan suddenly grew interested in straightening out the wrinkles in his shorts, looking uncharacteristically gloomy. “Whoever he is, I hope it goes well for you.”

“Me too.” Minhyun started to laugh then hid it with a cough into his hand. The captain caught his eye and gave him a wink while Sungwoon gave him an encouraging thumbs up.

 

 

Since the doubles matches were first, the winning pair went to the locker room to change out of their team uniforms and go out to watch the singles matches. While changing, Seongwoo curiously looked over his shoulder. 

Daniel had always closed his locker door unnaturally fast and blocked the opening as if he had something to hide. While he was removing his shirt, his elbow bumped the door, swinging it wide open. He noticed it and went to close it, ignoring the fact he was shirtless. It was too late though.  
Seongwoo had seen what was inside since he was hoping for that exact moment, happening to already be looking in that direction. It was something like a miniature shrine to him. Pictures printed from the internet and news article clippings. His face was everywhere. 

Daniel turned his way apprehensively after shutting the door. Seongwoo was frozen with his eyes on the locker, not even blinking.

Daniel asked nervously, pupils shaking with fear, “Did you …see?”

“Uh, yeah…”

Daniel’s face flamed and his head drooped. For several long moments, the room was awkwardly silent. Before Seongwoo could think of the next thing that he wanted to say, Daniel had fled the room, leaving his clothes and racket on the bench. Seongwoo didn’t want them to go missing so he put them in his and then took off out the locker room. 

Daniel wasn’t hard to spot because of his large build and height. He called for Daniel several times to stop but that seemed to egg him on. He’d only run faster. Outside of a match this was as much as Seongwoo had probably run in his life, but he felt it was necessary. If he didn’t catch Daniel and ask him the question that popped up suddenly in his mind, things were going to be awkward with them and he might never have the courage or chance to ask it some other time. 

They were at a park nearly a mile away from the courts. Daniel had stopped at a bench to tie his shoe. 

“Daniel~” Seongwoo called like a wild man, bursting with the last reserves of his energy, tackling his waist.

They rolled to the ground, Daniel immediately protecting Seongwoo’s head in case of rocks. They stopped rolling eventually, their shirt and hair full of grass and dirt, Seongwoo’s cap flung from his head. Daniel’s red, sweaty face was looking at the other in a similar state with an incredulous expression. 

“Seongwoo, are you crazy? We could have been hurt. I was just standing there. There was no need for you to—”

“I was afraid you were going to run away again. Stop running. I have something important to ask you, Niel. Do you possibly like me still? Romantically?”

“What? N-no. No way. I don’t like you like that. I’m just…your fan. That’s why my locker looks like that. Since a long time ago, I wanted to be like you. I wanted to beat you and be better than you. I’m sorry that I acted like I hated you. I was angry from the past and it’s true that I like guys, but I know that you don’t. I don’t want to have any misunderstandings ruin our friendship. So, no. I don’t have feelings for you, hyung.”

“Ah, you don’t? Hmm, I see.” He paused, staring at Daniel for a few moments, then awkwardly laughed. “Well, I guess that’s a good thing. We can stay friends. Um, sorry for misunderstanding when I saw your locker. And for tackling you. You’re not hurt?”

Daniel’s smile was rather stiff, his heat flushing when he realized they were tangled and their faces close together. “Nah, I’m good. You’re not heavy and this part of the park happens to be less rocky it seems. How about you?”

“I’m good. You protected my head. Thanks for that.”

“You’re welcome. That’s a relief. We can’t have our ace getting hurt in the middle of the season. Shall we get up?”

“Ah, right. We should.”

They scrambled up on their feet, faces red and hands scratching the back of their heads, grinning sheepishly. They both had several things on their mind and were feeling suddenly awkward around each other. They had a difficult time coming up with something to say. 

“Daniel…I’ll forget I saw that. You don’t need to take it down. I’m happy to have a fan and I support your dream. It’s good to have a role model to challenge yourself with. I’m sure lots of people in the world put photos up of their favorite sports player to challenge themselves. That was stupid of me to assume that means you like me romantically. I’ll forget it and not misunderstand again so…friends?”

Daniel stared at Seongwoo’s outstretched fist with a complicated expression. He hesitated for a couple of seconds but eventually pressed their knuckles together. 

“Yeah, friends. I appreciate you taking my word for it and being cool about this, hyung.”

Seongwoo rubbed his tingling hand, wondering why things felt weird between them now, as if he hadn’t done enough. The idea that weirded him out the most was the feeling like he wanted to be in Daniel’s arms again. He was fighting the urge to give him a hug. He also felt somehow…disappointed?

“Um, I went out in the middle of changing. I’ll go back to the locker. Your stuff is in there too. You can get it later.”

“Ah, that’s right. I left it out in the open. I think I’ll just go home now. I could use a shower and a nap. Tell the others?”

“Yeah, sure I will. See you tomorrow, Niel.”

“Yeah, see you at practice, Seongwoo hyung.”

They listlessly waved before going their separate ways, each step heavy and making their heart sink deeper. It didn’t feel right to part but the situation called for it.

 

“Hmm.”

“Something wrong, Cap?”

“Those two. Their relationship improved a lot. Then suddenly things got weird. Do you know what happened?”

Daehwi glanced in the direction that Jisung was looking at. Seongwoo and Daniel were practicing their serves on the same court. They looked at each other but only when the other wasn’t looking and they didn’t say a single word, either joking or casually. Their expressions seemed conflicted and uncomfortable, as if they’d rather be somewhere else but couldn’t bring themselves to leave, as if they wished to say something to the other but couldn’t think of how to begin.

“I’m not sure either. After they won their match, they disappeared. Then from the next day they were like this. They don’t fight which is good, but they don’t joke around or chat either. They only talk to each other when necessary and I’ve heard it. It’s really awkward. You know how to people who were friends went on a date and it went terribly? It’s like that afterwards.”

“Ah, is that what you think? Do you think that they like each other? Did one person confess and the other rejected?”

“Could be. I thought they’re both straight though? They have lots of female fans and they’re pretty manly. I mean, I know Seongwoo is handsome and dainty but his personality is mostly masculine.”

“I can’t say I’ve ever gotten any gay vibes from them either. Not like with you or Woojin. But, well…Sometimes there’s more than meets the eye. They could be hiding their sexuality or they might have developed feelings for a guy for the first time. Something is definitely weird with them. Hmm, what can I make them do to fix this…”

Daehwi chuckled. “You’re interfering again? Now it seems like you’re playing matchmaker.”

“I’m not, really. I don’t really want them to date. That would be asking too much. I just want them to be friendly. The last two weeks were peaceful, weren’t they? It seemed to improve other’s momentum. Not having those two gnawing each other’s heads off every day. I’m just looking out for the team.”

“Sure. Such a good captain you are. You’d be even better if you played matchmaker with me and Jinyoung next big meet.”

“Neh? You and…J-Jinyoung? What do you mean?”

“I’m saying. I want to play doubles with him next time. That way we can have an excuse to hang out so eventually we can confess and make-out. Or at least force us to practice together.”

“Why do you need me? Aren’t you a confident gay? You go get him yourself! If you want to practice together, I’m not going to stop you.”

“He’s a broody loner and very unconfident though. He’ll refuse if I ask, I bet. It’s better you force it then I can gradually win him over with my overwhelming charm. Like Daniel’s doing with Seongwoo. Neh? I’m counting on you, Captain. I love you!”

He left with a wink and large heart over his head. Jisung laughed softly with disbelief. “Unbelievable. Since when is playing Cupid part of the job description? Ugh, these brats. I need an Advil.”

 

Seongwoo was ticked off. He was livid actually, to say the least. He knew why but he refused to admit it to himself because it was simply ridiculous. It couldn’t be possible. He wasn’t like that. He couldn’t be.

Or could I be? How does one even know that sort of thing?

While practicing his serves, he’d been glancing over at Daniel interacting with their junior members. They were clearly his fans and they were overly affectionate, clinging to him like leeches. Especially that Jaehwan. 

He already had Minhyun, what was he sidling up to Daniel as well for? Was he that desperate to be a regular? Would he even be willing to give them special favors for it? 

Disgusting. Daniel was disgusting too. Liking guys and dick. What a joke. He wasn’t like that. He couldn’t be. Didn’t that run in families? There wasn’t anyone gay in his family. 

He put more strength into his serves. Tossing and slamming a green ball once every two to three seconds, his wrist snapping powerfully, the ball thumping, skidding in a circle, and bouncing hard off the same left corner just an inch or two inside the white lines. 

He was hitting perfect serve repeatedly. He was on a fiery roll. However, that didn’t make him feel any better. His bitterness and anger coiled in his stomach, strangling his throat, searing his brain with heat every time that he looked over to see the boys laughing at Daniel joke. 

Seeing Daniel affectionately ruffle Jaehwan’s hair was the last straw. He went on overdrive with his serves, slamming wildly and letting out loud ‘HA!’ sounds as the power was stolen from his depths. The balls hit the fence with a sharp clink of metal, sending tremors down the line. 

Several members of the team turned to the passionate, angered man, some showing awe and some showing concern. Daniel appeared gravely concerned as he left the juniors at the benches and wandered onto the court. Anyone knew that if Seongwoo was putting major effort into his practice, it was because something was bothering him like he hadn’t done as well in a match or he couldn’t master copying a new move. 

As far as Daniel knew though, that wasn’t the case this time. Something else was wrong and it was making him overdo himself. He wasn’t confident he had the skills to get it out of him but he hoped that he might distract the man before he became injured. 

“Seongwoo, slow down. Hyung! You’re going to hurt yourself at this rate.”

Seongwoo ignored Daniel calling to him. Hearing his voice seemed to make things worse, in fact. He gripped the racket and slammed down even harder. Until his wrist suddenly cramped up and gave out. The racket and ball spun across the court as Seongwoo collapsed and groaned, grabbing his stinging wrist. Daniel rushed to his side, kneeling and gently taking his arm in hand, rolling up the sleeve of his jacket. He tisked his tongue and sternly glared at the brunette who had teary eyes and was biting his lip.

“I knew that would happen. It hurts a lot, right? You’re overdoing it, hyung. If you keep going like that, you’ll have to sit out for a month and go to recovery. Luckily it’s not sprained just yet. We need to put ice on it and you need to rest a day or two is all. What were you thinking? Something’s wrong, isn’t it?”

“It’s not. I’m fine. Let go.”

Seongwoo responded coolly, standing up and shaking off Daniel’s hand.

“Hyung…I don’t know what it is or why you don’t want to talk to me about it, but you’ve been weird this week. Well, I’m weird too. But you’re even weirder. You said that we could still be friends but then you avoid me and now you’re pushing me away. I guess things aren’t really okay. Maybe you’re still misunderstanding or the idea your teammate is your fan just weirds you out. That’s annoying. I’m angry at you for that. Anyway, let’s get you iced and bandaged before it gets worse.”

Seongwoo tensed with his back still facing the blonde. “I’m fine. I will play a bit more and then ice it at home. Leave me alone.”

“I’m not going to. Seongwoo. You can’t play anymore. Your wrist will get sprained at this rate. You won’t be able to play.”

Seongwoo scoffed, responding bitterly, “Is that what you’re worried about? That you won’t be able to see your favorite player play? You won’t have a rival to beat anymore? If that’s all you see me as, then seriously. Just go.”

“That’s not. I’m worried about you. You don’t seem well. You’re hurt. I can’t just sit on the sidelines and watch you damage yourself.”

Seongwoo swung around, fiercely glaring at him, raising his voice, “Stop with the nice guy act, Daniel. You’re nice to everyone. It’s got no special meaning. I hate you for that.”

Daniel slammed his foot on the ground and tightened his fists. “Yah! What do you mean it has no meaning? I’m never nice to anyone just to be nice! I’m not concerned because you’re my teammate or my rival. I’m concerned because you’re my friend. Or at least I thought you were.”

Seongwoo glared at the ground, turning his head away. “Well, maybe I don’t want to be anymore.”

Daniel grit his teeth, feeling rage and hurt bubbling up inside of him. “What the hell? What did I do, hyung? Just because I’m nice? Just because I care? You don’t want to be friends with me because of that? I don’t get you. You’re such an impossible complicated jerk.”

“And you’re such an overly friendly idiot.”

Jisung was the one as usual to dare to break up their fight. At least this time they were only glaring and clenching their fists when usually by now they would have had their hands on each other. 

“The two of you! You’re fighting again? I don’t know what’s going on but I won’t stand for it. You’re both suspended from my courts until you make up and Seongwoo heals. Daniel, I order you to stay with Seongwoo and make sure that he heals up. Ice his wrist every day and get it bandaged. Make sure he doesn’t use that hand. It’s your new mission. Get out of here, both of you, right now! DON’T YOU ‘BUT’ ME ONG SEONGWOO AND KANG DANIEL, I FUCKING SWEAR I’LL KICK YOU OFF THE REGULARS!”

 

“There. Sorry to be nice. But you needed that and you can’t do it yourself. I’m sorry to inconvenience or upset you with my kindness. Even though I’ve been ordered to, I still would have done it. Though I don’t get why you hate it. Who hates people who are kind?”

Seongwoo held the ice pack over his bandaged wrist that Daniel had been carefully treating as they remained tensed and awkwardly silent the last ten minutes in the nurse’s office. Daniel huffed out his frustration, sounding irritated and hurt. Seongwoo’s face flamed and his lips pursed into a sulky pout as he looked down, feeling Daniel’s almond eyes intensely staring at him, as if trying to figure out a complicated puzzle.

“It’s not being kind that’s an issue. It’s being too kind to everyone when you should be decently kind to some and more kind to others you’re closer to or like more. That’s what bothers me.”

Daniel silently stared for a long moment at Seongwoo’s face as it heated, his ears positively strawberry colored. Then he burst out laughing, holding his stomach. “What’s with this honesty all of a sudden? Hyung. You know what? You almost sound jealouos but…Eh~ There’s no way.”

In the midst of Daniel’s laughing, Seongwoo gradually became more irritated and pouty. When Daniel’s cackles finally died off, he commented in a gloomy tone. 

Seongwoo glanced up and then back down, nibbling on his lip. “What if…what if that were true? I’m human. Can’t I be jealous too? I’m not actually a robot like you might think. I have emotions too. They might be underdeveloped and I don’t know how to deal with them and I’d prefer not to express them, but they’re definitely there…I got upset seeing you talking and touching to Jaehwan and his friends earlier…”

Daniel’s eyes popped open and it was his turn to flush. “Eh? You’re telling me this whole fight happened because you’re jealous? Because I was being nice to my juniors but not to you?”

He kept his head down, nervously drumming his fingers on his knee. “No comment…”

“You were! Oh my god. They’re just my dongsaengs. We’re close. I like to make people laugh and with cute kids like them, I get affectionate. You’re thinking too much. They’re not my type. Ah, maybe I’m jumping ahead. You could be jealous because you don’t have many friends. You don’t like sharing your friends, is that it? Which one is it, hyung? You’re jealous because you don’t want to share me as a friend or as a man?”

“Um…also no comment…” The nervous drumming sped up.

“You’re funny, hyung. Come with me. I’ll show you something. Once you see that, I have a feeling you’ll be able to answer my question and this misunderstanding will be all cleared up. I think it’s about time that we stopped these silly arguments before they get us kicked off the team.”

Seongwoo reluctantly followed Daniel, flushing hard as he stared at Daniel’s strong, warm hand firmly gripping his wrist. He led him to the locker rooms and opened up his locker door wide with a huge, bright grin.

“Look, hyung. It’s still here. My shrine. I was lying earlier about my feelings. You’re still my hero. I still like you. I never stopped. I couldn’t. The more that I find out about you and see you the more I seemed to like you. 

I collected all these things about you, not just because you were my inspiration, but because seeing your cute face made me smile every day. Maybe that’s what made me be nasty to you. Doesn’t make much sense, I suppose. 

I think I was trying to convince myself that you were an unlikable person and forcing myself to keep a distance because I was scared that you were straight and would never take an interest in me. But it’s not so easy to change things like that, I recently found out. Your heart wants what it wants. 

As impossible and frustrating and childish as you are, hyung, I like you. A lot. As much as I can eat in jellies and burgers. So, if there’s any possibility that you were jealous because you like me romantically…I hope that you’ll answer me now.”

Seongwoo looked between the nervous but hopeful blonde and the pictures of himself on the locker for a minute and then stared down at the ground, chewing on his lip.

“I’m sorry…”

Daniel held back his disappointment, forcing a stiff smile to remain on his face. “That’s fine, hyung. You can’t help it if you don’t—”

“That I didn’t notice. I’m sorry that I didn’t notice you were lying earlier. I should have guessed it. Of course you still have feelings or you would have gotten rid of all this. That was a huge sign. Forgive me for not noticing you were lying and for making things awkward by not noticing my own feelings. 

It was weird going back to being friends because after I found out that you liked me that way, I started to want to BE liked that way and I wanted to like you back. I didn’t want to be just friends. I didn’t want to have you be nice to me like you were with everyone else. I wanted more. 

No, that’s wrong. Let me rewind. I want more. I don’t want to be your friend or your teammate or your rival. I want to level up to being your boyfriend. I mean, I’ve never been on a date with anyone, let alone a man. And I only just realized a few minutes ago that I might not have every liked a woman because I like men? I’m not sure on that fully. So, you’ll have to take your time and be patient with me. I need to get used to things. 

All I can promise is that I’ll try my best. I might be lazy in most things but I don’t want to be lazy on this. I don’t want to sleep on a possible relationship and let my happiness whiz by. I’ll try to be more expressive. I’ll try not to be so jealous. I’ll try not to start arguments or speak rudely—”

“Seongwoo. Stop. Just stop right there.”

Daniel stepped forward, wrapping the slighter man in his arms and pressing his head onto his shoulder. Seongwoo tensed for a second and then relaxed into the hug, his heart racing like crazy, his shaky fingers clutching 

Daniel’s jacket. He liked this so much. His heart had never thumped this hard, he’d never felt so full of joy that he couldn’t seem to stop smiling. How had he not known that he’d liked Daniel? Just how long had it been? 

He had no idea. He was clueless about his feelings since he’d never had a crush on someone. Maybe this whole time Daniel being able to easily get on his nerves and turning him into a childish person and being able to talk to him rather easily about his feelings and past had been because he’d secretly been harboring a crush. 

Whenever it started though didn’t matter so much. The fact was that he liked Daniel and Daniel was giving him permission to like him back. Apparently, he was gay too. This was a lot to take in but he chose merely to push the swarm of identity thoughts aside and focus on this pleasant moment. Daniel’s hug brought him comfort and security at the same time it made him all tingly and hot.

“You’re fine the way you are. You don’t need to change anything for me. Even with all these weird quirks of yours, I fell for you harder. I like you like this. Arrogant, rude, out of touch with your emotions, childish, lazy, stubborn. All those things are not negative, alright? I see those attributes as part of your personality and it’s charming. 

You are many positive things as well. Strong-willed, confident, sensitive, sensible, rational, determined, sometimes freaking hilarious and almost all the time incredibly cute. If you change anything about you, it might risk my feelings. That’s a gamble I think we both don’t want to risk.”

“You too then. You stay the same way. Noisy, immature, overly energetic and optimistic, adorably dumb, and impulsive. But I wish you’d be kinder and sweeter to me than you are to others.” 

After making his request, the embarrassed brunette hid his feverish face in Daniel’s shoulder, gripping his jacket tightly. 

“No worries about that. I’m the sweetest and kindest to my boyfriend. It’s going to be a whole new level of gentleman. You can try to prepare yourself but I’ll probably still knock you on your flat ass.”

“Don’t discriminate against small butts. It’s not fair that you’ve got a black girl’s bottom.”

“Is it that big? How many times have you stared to draw that comparison?” Daniel teased.

“Stop the teasing, you jerk.”

“Hmm, it’s not going to be easy to get me to stop teasing you now. The best way is to show me aegyo maybe?”

“Aegyo? What’s that…Ah! You mean acting cute? Like kwiyomi and finger hearts and shit? Fuck no.”

Daniel cackled as Seongwoo slapped his back and lightly knocked his knee against him, appearing horrified at the idea.

“Just kissing. I mean—kidding! Just kidding!”

Seongwoo snickered looking up to see Daniel smack his head, flushing furiously at his slip of tongue.

“I wonder why that suddenly slipped out? I don’t need to be a genius to see where your mind is apparently.”

“Ugh. Sometimes I really hate that my thoughts just slip out like that. I’ve got no filter.”

“Well, we’ve got that in common then. You already know I also don’t have any filter. Since you said that, all I’m thinking now is that I kinda want that badly. My first kiss. Take it, Daniel. Now.”

“You’re serious? Holy shit, you ARE serious. Um…How to…Can I really? Oh god, why am I being an awkward duck now of all times…”

Daniel gently held Seongwoo’s face, trying to decide the angle that he should kiss him from that would be the most pleasant and impressive. He felt pressured from the fact it was Seongwoo’s first and because of the way Seongwoo was intensely staring at him with those huge, sparkling, unblinking eyes, frozen as he patiently waited for Daniel to make a move. 

He flushed deeper and muttered, “At least close your eyes. Then, this will be a bit less nerve-wracking.”

“Ah, is kissing usually done with your eyes closed?” Seongwoo commented curiously. 

He had always fallen asleep during romance movies early on, so he had hardly ever seen any kiss scenes in his life. He honestly had no idea how it was done or how it was supposed to feel like. He trusted Daniel though. Daniel must have done it before seeing as he was popular.

Daniel chuckled as he affectionately rubbed Seongwoo’s smooth cheeks. He was so cute then, Daniel could barely contain himself. His nose scrunched up as he moved in, looking at Seongwoo’s twitching thin, bow-shaped lips. He pushed them out and then flattened them repeatedly, unsure what was expected of him.

“So innocent. Princess really does suit you. In general, eyes are closed. It feels a bit awkward staring at each other close up when you’re doing it. But if you’d prefer to look at me, I don’t mind.”

“I’ll just go with what you are doing then.”

“I’m not closing my eyes. You’re too cute right now, waiting for me and being all nervous. I can’t get enough honestly.”

Seongwoo peeked one eye open, scrunching up his nose and slapping his chest. “That’s no fair. Don’t leave me hanging like this. It’s freaking embarrassing!”

Daniel laughed faintly, apologizing and rubbing his thumbs over the other’s silky flesh in a calming gesture. “Alright, alright. I’ll close my eyes and kiss you now. Just relax and don’t move. Good, like that.”

Daniel leaned in and closed his eyes, the last image being of Seongwoo closing his eyes tight with his lashes fluttering, showing how nervous he was. Their lips pressed together for a few seconds softly. Then Daniel returned, kissing him a couple more times until Seongwoo hesitantly kissed back. They laughed as they turned heads but ended up going the same direction and bumping noses. Their smiles died off as they found the right angle and kissed again, this time a bit firmer and longer. 

Daniel continued to cradle and tip Seongwoo’s face up, his other hand going to the small of his back, subtly holding him close. Seongwoo’s hands shook as they fidgeted with his shirt and then slid up to lay against his chest. 

A couple playful, sweet kisses later, they were both more comfortable yet slightly dying inside. Daniel hugged him with two hands, hiding his face in his neck. Seongwoo giggled, loosely encircling his neck and patting his broad shoulders in understanding. They couldn’t seem to stop laughing and they refused to stop the hug, both ashamed of how red their faces were and what their expressions must be like then. 

They maintained the gentle hug despite the fact it was dangerous as anyone could come in and spot the two notorious rivals being lovey dovey and their relationship would become the gossip of the whole school before they’d even had a full day together. There was no choice though. Risking that was better than completely ruining the ‘cool’ image that the other had of them with being a total ball of fluff. 

Their rivalry might have lessened as they grew closer, but one thing wouldn’t ever be different—that feeling that they didn’t want to lose and be lesser at something than the other. Some things may change but others never do.

**Author's Note:**

> My second attempt at a sports related story. Though this one has bouts of the real game and they are both actual players, not like in my baseball au where they're just in a uniform for a day. I didn't want to go into too much detail during the two matches here or it might get really long. I wanted the match to seem sort of dramatic and fast-paced like how things are in the Prince of Tennis anime. You can imagine the matches like those, fill in the rest of the details yourself. There is some tennis related language in there, just from things I remember when I played in high school. Actually it's a really fun sport (that Ong might LOOK like he could do but he really shouldn't because I fear for his life honestly) that you should try if you haven't yet. Rallying is fun at least, an actual match is a bit of a complicated pain. 
> 
> I hope that you enjoyed it. I wanted to make you laugh, attempt a rivals to lovers au, try another au inspired by anime because I've actually watched a freaking ton, and fill up the sports au tag for w1 cus it's running really dry. I understand tho, it's fun to read about but hard to write about it since you need to research and explain about the game, lots of actions and limb placement to consider.
> 
> See you soon for something else! I do have another one-shot in my reserves but I'm waiting until Ong's Pepsi mv gets released. Hope you'll grace me with your thoughts~ Thank you for sticking with ON and trying out my stories. Let's hang in a bit more, we're bound to see them this summer and fall! 
> 
> <3 Raina


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